STEPS: CBT based group therapy-educational program for siblings of children with autism spectrum disorders
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| Year of publication | 2017 |
| Type | Appeared in Conference without Proceedings |
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| Description | In this open paper we would like to present another possibility of use of cognitive-behavioral therapy through presenting the results of groups that will be conducted from February to June 2017 and compare them with results of the pilot study. To live with brother/sister with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) brings number of challenges to everyday life. Healthy child needs to cope with increased level of stress, sibling´s problematic behaviour, lack of knowledge about the illness and other myriad of problems that diagnosis of ASD brings. Nevertheless siblings of children with disability are long-term neglected group not only by experts from the field of science but also by practitioners. Experts should take into account that sibling relationship is typically one of the longest and most intensive relationships in life. Therefore our team is creating, implementing and evaluating program STEPS (CBT based group therapy-educational program for siblings of children with autism spectrum disorders). STEPS program consists of ten 2-hour sessions for groups (6-10 participants) of healthy siblings (ages 7-11 and 12-16). The main objectives of the program are expanding the knowledge about specific problems participant´s siblings have, enable children to share and process emotions associated with living with the sibling with ASD and train how to cope with brother´s/sister´s problem behaviours. Through fulfilling these objectives program focuses on improving sibling relationship and enhancing participant´s overall quality of life. We have already conducted a pilot study on participants age 7-11 (n=7) showing positive results in fields of knowledge, sibling relationship, etc. On the basis of this study we have created final version of STEPS manual and between February to June 2017 we would like to conduct and evaluate 2-4 groups (N=15-30) based on this manual. Data will be acquired from participants (individual administration) and their parents (group administration) in two time points (week before and week after the program). Test battery will focus on knowledge about ASD (Autism knowledge test of own design), sibling relationship (structured interview with participant and Sibling Inventory of Behavior and Sibling Relationship Inventory), problem behavior (Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire), subjectively perceived Quality of life (PedsQL – child and parent version) and family support (The family support scale) and also program feedback. |